Machine for perforating paper sheets



July 21, 1942. H. DESBARATS 2,290,465

MACHINE FOR PERFORATING PAPER SHEETS Filed Feb. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOB l-LDESBARATS ATTORN EYS i7 18 3g 36 BY July 21, 1942. H. DESBARATS MACHINE FOR PERFORATING PAPER SHEETS 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1941 INVENTOB 1 016.. WW 5M mm M Patented July 21, 1942 UNiTEl-D STATES PATENT QE'FHIE MACHINE FOR PERFORATING PAPER SHEETS 11 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine for punching openings in a book or pad of paper sheets or other sheet materials so that a spiral binding wire or other form of binding means may be threaded or passed through said openings to bind the sheets together.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of a machine embodying a plurality of reciprocating punches located above a vertically movable supporting table by which the book or pad is gradually raised toward the punches when the machine is in operation. A characteristic feature of the operation of this machine is that the rapidly reciprocating punches gradually cut their way through the entire thickness of the book or pad as the latter is moved upwardly by said table. The punches are driven against the assembled sheets by rapidly repeated but relatively light working strokes so that the amount of power required to operate the same is reduced to a minimum. Owing to the fact that the punches gradually cut their way through the entire thickness of the pad the machine is capable of being used for punching holes in thicker pads than can be punched, in one operation, on the single stroke punching machines now available for this work. This method of operation also tends to prolong the life of the punches since it minimizes destruction thereof.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the provision of means for imparting a slight rotary or turning movement to the punches during reciprocation thereof, whereby the cutting efliciency of the dies is substantially increased.

Another important feature resides in the provision of a machine provided with punches of tubular form, the lower end of each punch being shaped to provide a cup-shaped recess surrounded by a continuous cutting edge by which discs or blanks are cut from the paper or other sheets during reciprocation of the punches.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the provision of a machine equipped with stationary ejector pins which are fitted in the bores of the punches so that the discs or blanks cut from the paper sheets during the working strokes of the punches are ejected from the recesses at the lower ends of the dies by means of said ejected pins.

The foregoing and other characteristic features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings. in which Fig. 1 is a front view of my improved machine.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of, the punches.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 designates a main drive shaft journalled in bearing bushings 6 and bearing brackets 6a carried by the side frames 1. The shaft 5 is driven by a motor or other prime mover (not shown). A plurality of eccentric discs 8 are fixed to rotate with shaft 5, each disc being located close to one of the brackets 6a and being encircled by an eccentric strap 9 provided at the upper end of a connecting rod II. The lower end of each connecting rod H is fitted between and pivoted to lugs l2 projecting upwardly from a yoke member I3 provided with depending arms M and I5 whose lower ends are secured to a channel-shaped member l6 which serves as a carrier for a punch bar I1, the latter being equipped with a plurality of hollow punches I8. As here shown each punch 18 comprises a tube having its central bore l9 enlarged at its lower end to provide a cupshaped recess 20 surrounded by a circular cutting edge 2 I. Each punch I8 is rotatably mounted in an opening 22 provided in the punch bar or holder I! and is equipped, at its upper end, with a laterally projecting arm 23 having a reduced projection 24 extending into one of a plurality of sockets 25 provided in a slide bar 25 working against a guide 2'! which also serves as a spacer for maintaining the carrier l6 and the punch holder I! in spaced relation. A spacer 28 is interposed between the carrier l6 and the punch holder IT at the side opposite the spacer 21. The carrier l6 and punch holder I! may be fastened together in any suitable manner as by means of the fastening bolts 29.

One end of slide bar 26 projects beyond the corresponding end of the guide 21 and is fastened (see Fig. 4) by a pin 3%] to one end of a resilient metal strap 3|, the other end of which is fastened to an eccentric pin 32 projecting downwardly from a disc 33 fixed to the'lower end of a vertically extending shaft 3d. The lower portion of shaft 34 is journalled in a bracket 35 carried by the punch holder carrier I6. The upper portion of shaft 34 extends slidably through bearing lugs 35 and 36a projecting from one of the brackets Ea. A spiral tooth gear 31 is slidably keyed to shaft 34 and is positioned between the lugs 36 and 36a to hold said gear against vertical movement.

Gear 3'! meshes with a spiral tooth gear 38 fixed to rotate with the main drive shaft 5.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that, during rotation of shaft 5, the cutting punches l8 are raised and lowered through the agency of connecting rods II and yckes l3 which support the punch holder carrier IE to which the punch holder I1 is attached as previously described. Shaft 34 is free to rotate in its bearing 35 but is held against longitudinal movement relative to said bearing. Consequently, this shaft travels upwardly and downwardly with the punch bar carrier IS, the upper portion of the shaft sliding through the gear 3'! to which it is slidably keyed in any conventional manner. The gear 31, being driven by the gear 33, serves to rotate shaft 34 which, in turn, serves to impart sliding movement to the slide bar 25 through the agency of the strap connection 3| provided between said slide bar and the pin 32 of disc 33. It will thus be seen that a rotary movement is imparted to the punches 8 by the shaft 34 as the dies are reciprocated in response to rotation of shaft 5.

A plurality of vertically disposed ejector pins 4| are fastened, at their upper ends, to a stationary horizontal bar 42 which extends between the arms l4 and i5 of the yoke members I3. The extremities of the bar 42 are positioned between and fastened to the upper portions of stationary guide members 43 projecting inwardly from the side frames 1. These guides 43 serve to guide the ends of the punch holder carrier |6 as the latter is raised and lowered. Each ejector pin 4| extends downwardly through a guide opening in the carrier l6 and into the bore IQ of one of the tubular punches l8. During the upward or return stroke of the punches IS the lower ends of the pins 4| serve to eject from the recesses 20 the circular paper discs or blanks which are cut from the pad of paper sheets during the working strokes of the punches. The wall of each punch recess 20 is preferably provided with a thread 45 (Fig. 5) or similar projection for holding the paper discs or blanks in such recess during the return stroke of the punches until such discs or blanks are brought into engagement with the lower ends of the ejector pins 4|.

During the operation of the machine described herein the pad A of paper sheets is arranged on a vertically movable table 41 by which said pad is gradually elevated during the punching operation. In commencing operations the table is elevated so that, during the initial down stroke of the rotating punches 18, the circular cutting edges at the lower ends of the punches out into the uppermost sheets of the pad and remove therefrom circular discs or blanks which, as previously stated, are retained in the cup-shaped recesses by the thread 45 until ejected by the pins 4| during the upward or return stroke of the punches. During reciprocation of the punches It the table 41 is gradually elevated so that, on succeeding working strokes of the punches, circular discs or blanks are cut from the paper sheets lying below those sheets which were cut during the initial working stroke. The gradual elevation of the table 41 is continued until the punches have out entirely through the thickness of the pad to form the circular openings indicated by the dotted lines 48 in Fig. 2.

The machine described herein may be provided with any suitable means for holding the pad A in place on the table 41 during the punching operation.

The elevation of table 41 may be accomplished either manually or automatically. In the present case I have shown manually operated means comprising front and rear rotary shafts 49 provided with table supporting arms 50 engaging the lower side of the table. These shafts are mounted in suitable bearings 5| and are equipped with gear segments 52 meshing with worm gears 53 fixed to an operating shaft 54, the latter being mounted in bearings 55 and equipped with a hand wheel 56. By turning hand wheel 55 the table supporting shafts 49 may be turned in either direction to raise or lower the table 41 through the agency of the vertically movable table supporting arms 50. Movement of the table 41 in a direction transversely of the frame members 1 is prevented by means of a bar 51 which is fastened to and extends across the underside of the table, each end of said bar being disposed to travel in a vertical guideway 58 formed by and between guide lugs 59 projecting inwardly from one of the frame members 1. If it is desired to operate the table 41 automatically this may be accomplished by the provision of a suitable drive connection between the main shaft 5 and the worm shaft 54 or in any other suitable manner.

In the foregoing I have described a specific embodiment of the invention but it will be understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of the appended claims. It is feasible, for example, to use hollow punches of any desired cross section, either round, square or otherwise. The mechanism described by way of example for imparting reciprocating and rotary movement to the punches may be replaced by any other suitable mechanism for accomplishing the same purpose. The specific mechanism described for raising and lowering the table during operation of the machine may also be replaced by any suitable form of table raising and lowering mechanism. It may also be pointed out that the machine is intended for general application and may be used whenever it is desired to provide registering openings in the superposed sheets of a pad or other assembly whether such sheets be made of paper, fabric or other sheet material.

Instead of raising the table 4'! to move the pad or book in the direction of the punches the same result may be accomplished by making the table stationary and providing some means for bodily lowering the punches l8 and the ejector pins 4| in the direction of the stationary table after each working stroke of the punches.

The throw of the eccentric 8 should be such that the length of stroke imparted to the punches i8 is suificiently greater than the thickness of the pad A to ensure that the punches |8 will be elevated above the upper surface of the pad A after-making the final stroke required to cut through the lowermost sheets of the pad. In this connection it will be understood that the pad is cut entirely through by the punches when the upper surface of the pad is still an appreciable distance below the horizontal plane which is occupied by the lower ends of the punches when the latter are at the end of the return stroke.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertical hollow cutting punches located above said table, means for reciprocating said punches in a vertical direction, means for imparting turning movement to said punches during reciprocation thereof, and means for moving the table vertically to feed material progressively against the punches during reciprocation thereof whereby the punches gradually cut their way through said material during the progressive feeding thereof.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertically disposed punches located above said table, each punch being provided with a central full length bore enlarged at its lower end to provide a recess surrounded by a continuous cutting edge, means for reciprocating said punches in a vertical direction, and means for moving the table vertically to progressively feed material against the punches during reciprocation thereof whereby said punches gradually out their way through said material during the progressive feeding thereof.

3. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertically disposed punches located above said tab-1e, each punch comprising a tubular member s having a central bore enlarged at its lower end to provide a cup-shaped recess surrounded by a continuous cutting edge, means for reciprocating said punches in a vertical direction, and means for moving said table vertically to progressively feed material against the punches during reciplocation thereof whereby said punches are caused to gradually cut their way through said material as it is progressively fed against the punches.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertically disposed hollow cutting punches located above said table, a plurality of vertically disposed stationary ejector pins each having its lower portion fitted in the bore of one of said punches, means for reciprocating said punches relative to said table and said ejector pins, and means for moving said table vertically to feed material progressively against the punches during reciprocation thereof.

5. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertically disposed punches located above said table, each punch comprising a tube having a full length central bore enlarged at its lower end to provide a cup-shaped recess surrounded by a circular cutting edge, a plurality of vertically disposed ejector pins each having its lower portion fitted in the bore of one of said punches, means for reciprocating said punch in a vertical direction relatively to said table and said ejector pins, and means for raising said table to progressively feed material against the punches during reciprocation thereof.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a vertically movable table, a plurality of vertically disposed punches located above said table, means for reciprocating said punches in a vertical direction and means for raising and lowering said table, said last mentioned means comprising a pair of rotary shafts equipped with table supporting arms engaging the lower surface of said table and means for simultaneously rotating said shafts in either artable raising or lowering direction.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 in which the last mentioned means comprises gear elements fixed to said table supporting shafts, a driving shaft and gear elements on said driving shaft meshing with said first mentioned gear elements.

8. A machine of the character described comprising a tab-1e, a plurality of punches located above said table, a punch carrier in which said punches are free to rotate but are held against independent longitudinal movement, means including a rotary shaft for reciprocating said punch carrier in a vertical direction, means for rotating said punches in response to rotation of said shaft, and means for raising said table to progressively feed material against said punches during reciprocation thereof.

9. A machine of the character described comprising a table, a pluraiity of punches located above said table, a punch carrier in which said punches are free to rotate but are held against independent longitudinal movement, means including a rotary shaft for reciprocating said punch carrier in a vertical direction and means for rotating said punches in response to rotation of said shaft, said last mentioned means comprising a bar slidab-ly mounted on the, punch carrier, a member projecting laterally from each punch and engaging in a socket in said bar and means actuated by said shaft for imparting horizontal reciprocation to said bar during vertical reciprocation of the punch carrier.

10. A machine of the character described comprising a table, a punch holder arranged above the table, a plurality of vertical hollow cutting punches carried by said holder, means for reciprocating said holder in a vertical direction and means other than said reciprocating means for varying the distance between the holder and the table so that material arranged on the table is progressively fed against the punches during reciprocation thereof.

11. A machine of the character described comprising a table, a plurality of punches located above said table, a punch carrier in which said punches are free to rotate but are held against independent longitudinal movement, a slide bar connected to said punches so that the latter are rotated in response to sliding movement of said bar, a rotating disc, a strap member connecting said disc to said slide bar so that sliding movement is imparted to said bar in response to rotation of said disc, a drive shaft, means actuated by said drive shaft for reciprocating the punch carrier in a vertical direction and means actuated by said drive shaft for rotating said disc.

HULLETT DESBARATS. 

